Are you looking for a good blogging platform? Well, there are a lot out there, including a number of them that have the advantage of being free, and therefore not costing you a penny as a blogger. One of the more interesting new ones is to be found at http://www.thoughts.com/.

Thoughts.com offers you the opportunity to establish free Blogs with some top-notch features, including participation in a free blog community. And there is much more. For example, Becaause they know that many bloggers have a lot of graphics and photos on their websites, they provide you with high-speed uploading of your photos and other graphics files as a part of their free service. Even better, you can upload your videos and host the, right from your own site – no more relying on other sites to host the video and praying that the code is compatible and the video remains on the site. You even have podcasting capabilities available through Thoughts.com, too. What’s more, there is even the option to set up your own social networking lists like on those other sites. What more could you ask for as a novice blogger? What more could you want?

Posted by: Greg at 02:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberty Pundit points to this outrageous quote regarding Obama buddies William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

During the 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago, Ayers and his wife, Weather Underground alumna Bernardine Dohrn, hosted a fundraiser at their Chicago home for Democrats Online.

Lytel said Friday that no one from the Clinton White House showed up for the 1996 event.

He added, “I’m a Clinton supporter, but I think it’s the absolute height of stupidity” and “preposterous” for her to try to use the Ayers connection as a weapon against Obama. “This is an insane way for her to try to define her opponent.”

“I have no reason to think that Ayers is anything other than smart, skeptical American,” Lytel said. “He’s like anyone else who has activities in his past that might be embarrassing to them as a middle-aged person.”

Now hold on here one moment -- "activities in his past that might be embarrassing to them as a middle-aged person"?

We are talking about setting off bombs in the United States Capitol, the Pentagon, and New York City Police Headquarters. In other words, acts of terrorism, not youthful hijinks that cause one to blush and shake one's head in dismay over having been so foolish.

Am I willing to excuse Ayers and Dohrn for their advocacy of the oppressive Marxist-Leninist ideology that has killed more people than Nazism? Sure -- just as I hope folks are willing to forgive me for my youthful flirtation with the notion that we should adopt a socialized medical system like the ones that deliver substandard medical care in Canada and the UK. Young people sometimes adopt crazy ideas which they later recognize to be flawed.

But let's draw a distinction about activities. I had a string of relationships -- some meaningful, some not -- in which I rather callously broke hearts. I'm embarrassed by those. I have several nights when I had way too much to drink -- and which would be fodder for YouTube if they were to have happened today. There are things I said then which I would take back in a heartbeat if I could, because time has taught me lessons that I needed in my youth.

But for all my youthful follies, I didn't commit acts of violence in the furtherance of political goals. I may have picketed outside of abortion clinics, but I didn't blow them up. I may have objected to the methods of the police chief in our college town and appealed to the city council to fire him, but I didn't plant a bomb in the offices of the police department. I may have objected to Jimmy Carter's restoration of draft registration, but I did not attempt to destroy the building where the registration forms were processed -- even though it was around the corner from my place of employment.

Why didn't I do any of those things? Was it fear of embarrassment? No -- it was recognition that such actions would not have merely been criminal, they also would have been fundamentally immoral.

And to this day, Ayers and Dohrn remain unrepentant.

And are embraced by the political and social elite of Chicago, and by presidential candidate.

And let's be clear -- William Ayers is not embarrassed by his terrorist activities. If anything, he only repents his failure to commit more and bigger acts of terrorism.

“I don’t regret setting bombs,” Ayers told the Times. “I feel we didn’t do enough.”

'Nuff said.

UPDATE: Bravo, Senator McCain!

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Posted by: Greg at 02:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Looking for party rentals in California, Reno, or Vegas? Contact the folks at Inflatable Adventures! They offer all of the inflatable party rentals folks love -- not to mention extreme sports and water slide party rentals. Heck, they also have casino equipment and a petting zoo available. You want it, they appear to have it!

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If we were to ever allow someone not born an American to become President of the United States, I'd argue that Mark Steyn would be the perfect candidate.

His current column int he Orange County Register includes the above assertion in a fuller form -- and bears frequent repetition.

As for "gun-totin'," large numbers of Americans tote guns because they're assertive, self-reliant citizens, not docile subjects of a permanent governing class. The Second Amendment is philosophically consistent with the First Amendment, for which I've become more grateful since the Canadian Islamic Congress decided to sue me for "hate speech" up north. Both amendments embody the American view that liberty is not the gift of the state, and its defense cannot be outsourced exclusively to the government.

Indeed, Steyn pegs it. A government that is viewed as the source of liberty is one which can claim the authority to revoke those liberties as unnecessary. A government that is the sole defender of liberty is one which also assumes the right to squash those same liberties in the name of a greater interest. On this day, the 233rd anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, we find ourselves reminded that it was the attempt by the British government to seize the colonists' means of self-defense -- their guns, shot, and powder -- that brought about a Revolution.

Steyn's timely reminder fits well with the words chosen by a group of patriots the following summer -- words which have inspired those seeking freedom for over two centuries and in every corner of our world.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Endowed by our Creator.

Certain unalienable rights.

Let us not forget.

H/T Malkin

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Posted by: Greg at 12:46 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Shhhhhh!

Don't tell the Democrats. It might upset their entire worldview.

CD shops sell love songs again. Some women emerge from their homes without veils, and alcohol sellers are coming out of hiding in the southern city of Basra — where religious vigilantes have long enforced strict Islamic codes.

The changes in recent weeks mark a surprising show of government sway — at least for now — after an Iraqi-led military crackdown that was plagued by desertions, ragged planning and ended in a virtual stalemate with Shiite militias in Iraq's second-largest city.

But it's unclear whether the new tone in parts of Basra represents a permanent tilt toward the Iraqi government or just a temporary retreat of Shiite hard-liners challenging the current Baghdad leadership.

During five days of heavy fighting last month, Iraqi troops struggled against militiamen, particularly the Mahdi Army loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The military was plagued by desertions and poor organization — and, in the end, the offensive was inconclusive with Iran helping mediate a truce.

Still, the crackdown appears to have succeeded in giving some sense of government control in Basra.

In other words, as expected, the surge and subsequent efforts of the Iraqi government and military have been a success. Now I'll admit that the Democrats have to continue to hope and pray for more setbacks and the ultimate defeat of American and its Iraqi allies if they are to win in November -- but this is good news for the rest of America, and for Iraq.

Posted by: Greg at 06:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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They are precisely the sort of questions that need to be asked to get past the "Obamessiah" image that Barack Obama and his campaign have created. Americans need to see beneath the facade.

And it would appear that asking questions that do that raises the hackles of Obama supporters.

The political fallout from the Philadelphia faceoff between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was all but eclipsed yesterday by a fierce debate about Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

The ABC moderators found themselves under fire for focusing on campaign gaffes and training most of their ammunition on Obama. Huffington Post blogger Jason Linkins called the debate "utterly asinine." Washington Post television critic Tom Shales called the duo's performance "despicable." Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch said the moderators "disgraced the American voters, and in fact even disgraced democracy itself."

Tough crowd out there.

"I think the questions were certainly pointed -- tough at times, as they should be in a presidential debate -- but not inappropriate or irrelevant at all," Stephanopoulos said yesterday. "The questions have been part of this campaign and in the news. We did our job. You're not going to satisfy everyone."

In the first 40 minutes of Wednesday's two-hour Democratic debate, the moderators asked Obama about his remarks that small-town residents bitterly cling to guns and religion; the inflammatory sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Stephanopoulos followup: "Do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?"); why Obama doesn't wear an American flag pin; and his relationship with William Ayers, a former Weather Underground radical who has acknowledged involvement in several bombings in the 1970s.

In the only comparably aggressive question directed at Clinton, Stephanopoulos cited an ABC/Washington Post poll challenging her honesty and tied it to her false tale of having once come under sniper fire in Bosnia.

The reality is that Americans know all about Hillary, and don't like her. They know all about John McCain, and do like him. But Obama? He remains an unknown, and as such those debate questions were appropriate in terms of helping America take the measure of the man.

My guess? They won't like what they see.

And I pose this question to you -- if Obama were a white man, would he be given a pass after attending Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church for two decades? Would he not be questioned if he were friends with Olympic/abortion clinic/gay bar bomber Eric Rudolph? Wouldn't either of those associations be a deal breaker for most of the American public -- and for the American media?

Posted by: Greg at 06:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems like at least once a week I hear about some new social networking site that is going to be the “next big thing”. Reality check – most of them aren’t. Still, these site fill a nice for some folks, allowing them to link with old friends or meet new ones. And let’s not kid ourselves -- social network sites (SNSs) such as MySpace, Facebook, Cyworld, and Bebo have millions of active users, many of whom have made the sites an integral part of their daily lives. How’s that for a business model?

What makes social network sites unique is that lwet peole publicly associate with others and make their interactions known to so many other people. These connections are often related to their daily lives as a part of their “real world” social networks, but can extend well-beyond that. Just through my blogging, I’ve found friends in my field from around the country – fellow educators with whom I have a bond even though we have never met face to face. And I know that my wife, with her disability issues, has linked into a network of others who deal with similar issues.

That brings me to the latest SNS to cross my path, 3GB Communities. This social networking links people according to a variety of factors, including sex, interests, birthday, hobbies, favorites, and other such criteria. The site allows users to share their personal interests via music, pictures, and chat services.
So if you are looking for another SNS, why not join 3gb community www.3gb.biz? They seem to have the potential to be the next big thing in social networking – so why not be the opinion leader who brings in all your friends this time?

Posted by: Greg at 04:40 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are The Next Moves In An Existential Chess Match by Wolf Howling, and It's the "White" Church that Obama's Talking About (UPDATED) by Baldilocks.  Here are the full results of the vote:

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I spent my high school and college years within a short distance of Chicago, so I love Chicago any time of year. Still, I think that the Spring may be the best time to visit. After all, spring weather in Chicago is temperate, and you begin actually get to see th new life associated with the season bursting forth. After I moved south to St. Louis, I still looked forward to little getaways to Chicago, just to take in some of the sites and dine at some favorite restaurants. After all, whether you are interested in pizza at Uno’s or Due’s, ethnic cuisine in one of Chicago’s many neighborhoods, or the experience that is Ed Debevic’s, Chicago has great food – and in the spring you can still sit in Wrigley field and pretend that the Cubs have a shot at the World Series!

Want to know about some of the things to do in Chicago? Why not sign up for the eNewsletter from Trusted Tours & Attractions? They will email you with great tourism values in Chicago, Things to do in Boston or sightseeing tours in one of the other cities in which they do business. Then you can purchase your tickets on their website.

Best of all, if you sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter at their sign-up page before April 30th, you could win a handheld GPS!

Posted by: Greg at 03:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Congressman Tom Tancredo gave a rather interesting speech on the Pope and immigration. It has caused a stir, mainly due to certain ill-considered suggestions in the latter half of the speech which should not have been made -- but the first half appears to me to be dead on. Watching the video, you'll see where he strays outside the realm of polite criticism into the sort of speculation that is not helpful to the discussion and which clearly obscures his larger, much more important point.

Like I said, part of the speech obscures the much more revealing information that precedes and follows it.

And so the Democrats are trying to make political hay out of Tancredo's less than diplomatic insinuations.

As John McCain attends the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington today, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called on the Republican nominee to denounce insulting comments made by one of his campaign surrogates, Rep. Tom Tancredo. Tancredo issued a press release yesterday attacking the "Pope's comments regarding U.S. immigration policy" and accusing his position of stemming from an interest in "recruiting new members." Dean issued the following statement:

"If John McCain is serious in his pledge to run a respectful campaign, he should immediately denounce Tom Tancredo's insulting remarks about Pope Benedict XVI.

It is, all-in-all, a dishonest statement on the part of the Democrats, beginning with the headline calling Tancredo a McCain surrogate -- despite the fact that the comments in question were made as a member of the House of Representatives on the floor of the House. I guess that for Democrats, the speech and debate clause protects hiding evidence of bribes in one's office, but not actual speech and debate. But I digress.

Since Tancredo was not speaking as a surrogate for John McCain, I see no obligation to denounce or repudiate anything. And given the regular strident attacks on the Catholic Church and various popes on the issue of abortion by more Democrats than I can count, I don't see where Howard Dean can insist upon respect for this pronouncement without engaging in hypocrisy of the rankest sort.

But I decided I would go to an authoritative source on what the Catholic Church teaches about immigration. Indeed, I found it in the most authoritative of teaching documents -- The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

2241 The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.

Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.

Well, let's consider this bit by bit.

The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.

As Tancredo clearly points out, we already do this. We take more immigrants than any country on the planet -- legally. One can argue about how many are enough, but no one can legitimately dispute that the US complies with Catholic teaching here. And given the current economic climate, it is legitimate to question if we are ABLE to legalize those currently here without further damaging our economy, much less admit even more hoping legally while absorbing the next wave awaiting the next amnesty.

Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.

Again, we do that . We educate the children. We give whole families medical care at government expense while our own citizens are forced to provide such care for themselves. We legally protect the rights of workers to be paid even if they have no legal rights to work, and we prosecute crimes against illegal immigrants. But I would remind the Holly Father that guests enter through the front door at the invitation of the host -- those who do otherwise are trespassers and, dare I say it, invaders whose uninvited presence does not merit a generous welcome.

Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption.

Oh, it seems that the Holy Father and so many others have ignored this little element of Catholic teaching on immigration. Doesn't the duty of immigrants towards the United States include FOLLOWING THE LAW by entering in an orderly fashion, with all required paperwork completed? Doesn't that include the right of the host country to set reasonable limits upon who can enter and when -- and how long they are permitted to stay? After all, the official compendium of Catholic teachings does not call for open borders here.

Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.

Yeah, there is is -- immigrants are required to obey the laws. You know, like not entering the country illegally or working illegally. If they cannot do that much, everything else the Pope calls for is irrelevant. Under the teachings of the Church itself, the US has no obligation to accept or keep illegal aliens.

Indeed, I'd like to go back to that quote from Cardinal Giacomo Biffi that Tancredo quotes -- "There is no such thing to a right of invasion." Orderly, controlled immigration is a right -- pell-mell rushes for the border in order to unlawfully enter a country to illegally seek employment or government benefits in another country is not.

But I do have a suggestion for Benedict XVI, if he really wishes to help out some of those illegal immigrants.

Why not load up a few thousand on specially chartered Alitalia flights and take them home to the Vatican with you. Between the Holy See itself and your summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, you can find a place for them all. Give them Vatican passports and offer them Vatican citizenship -- pay their medical bills, feed them, clothe them, and educate their children.

In other words, put your money where your mouth is -- and if you won't, I respectfully suggest that you shut it on this issue, because the US government and US taxpayer are already doing more on behalf of illegal immigrants in a manner consistent with Catholic teaching than you are.

And as for Howard Dean, until the Democrats add a plank to their platform calling for a ban on abortion, he should shut his mouth as well.

H/T Hot Air, Michelle Malkin

UPDATE: Now criticizing the Pope's comments on immigration is being declared "anti-Catholic".

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Posted by: Greg at 12:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The assessment by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Jack Murtha was really grim at yesterday's press conference.

They argued that the President's delay in troop withdrawals was "covering a policy of failure. Indeed, Hillary had this to say.

"If the American forces leave, they will lose everything. And if they stay, they will bleed to death."

Obama gave this assessment.

"Iraq nowadays is the most important battlefield on which our mujahedeen are waging a war against the forces of the Zionist-Christian Crusade," al-Zawahri said. "Therefore, supporting the mujahideen in Iraq and especially the Islamic State of Iraq is a most important duty."

Yeah, yeah, yeah -- I know, Barack Obama isn't a Muslim or a terrorist. He's just supported by them.

And no, this isn't Democrat leaders speaking -- it is Ayman al-Zawahri, number two to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

But it is telling, isn't it, that the position he takes on Iraq is the same as is taken by the "loyal opposition" here in the United States.

The al-Zawahri tape does make it clear, though, that Americans have a stark choice this fall.

Republican or Democrat.

Victory or defeat.

You decide.

Posted by: Greg at 10:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Finding that in my email inbox would freak me out.

But it really happened on Capitol Hill recently.

At 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, Lee Pitts, the spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), saw an unusual e-mail message pop up on the corner of his computer screen: “Please call 911 for me,” the subject line said.

Less than an hour earlier, Herman Wang had been transcribing interviews in the Washington bureau of the Chattanooga Times Free Press — which happens to be on the second floor of his house, since Wang is the Washington bureau of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Wearing headphones and re-listening to Tennessee pols speculate on whom they would prefer as vice presidential candidates, Wang didn’t hear his basement door kicked in. He did hear, however, a man’s footsteps on the stairs.

Wang met the intruder in the hallway. “I’m just looking for — ” said the man, who didn’t finish the sentence but instead rushed at Wang and beat him in the face as the reporter tried to defend himself.

* * *

Wang crawled to the master bedroom, hid behind the bed and tried to think of who might have a BlackBerry on hand. The obvious answer: a Hill staffer like Pitts.

“I was just robbed at home by two burglars,” reads the e-mail Wang got off. “Laptop, phones and wallet all taken. They missed my wife's laptop. I dont' [sic] know if they're still around the house. Please call 911 and ask them to send police.”

“Calling now,” wrote Pitts at 4:16 p.m., a minute after Wang’s e-mail came in.

“Thanks, I am in upstairs bedroom,” Wang wrote at 4:18.

If you read one story today that isn't "hard news", this is the one you should look at. it is a great story of kindness and decency -- and reminds us that some things transcend rivalries and adversarial relationships.

A hearty "attaboy" to Lee Pitts -- and best wishes to Herman Wang.

Posted by: Greg at 10:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It took a little bit of time, but John McCain is getting the base -- and more -- to rally behind him. Anyone want to talk about this being the Democrat's year?

Republicans are no longer underdogs in the race for the White House. To pull that off, John McCain has attracted disgruntled GOP voters, independents and even some moderate Democrats who shunned his party last fall.

Partly thanks to an increasingly likable image, the Republican presidential candidate has pulled even with the two Democrats still brawling for their party's nomination, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll released Thursday. Just five months ago — before either party had winnowed its field — the survey showed people preferred sending an unnamed Democrat over a Republican to the White House by 13 percentage points.

Also helping the Arizona senator close the gap: Peoples' opinions of Hillary Rodham Clinton have soured slightly, while their views of Barack Obama have improved though less impressively than McCain's.

The survey suggests that those switching to McCain are largely attuned to his personal qualities and McCain may be benefiting as the two Democrats snipe at each other during their prolonged nomination fight.

I think this voter sums up the reality of the situation quite well -- and demonstrates exactly what is happening among Democrats and those who earlier leaned that way.

"You can't trust Hillary and Obama's too young," said Pauline Holsinger, 60, a janitorial worker in Pensacola, Fla., now backing McCain who preferred an unnamed Democrat last fall. "I like him better, he's more knowledgeable about the war" in Iraq.

And let's face it -- Hillary remains a Clinton, and Obama remains an untested political neophyte who lacks the experience and seasoning necessary to be an effective president. What was the word a cycle or two back? Gravitas. Obama lacks it, while McCain has it in spades. When will that be a topic of discussion in the MSM -- or will it, since it hurts their anointed candidate?

Posted by: Greg at 10:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After getting his butt handed to him on national television, Barack Obama has decided to go sulk in the corner -- and he isn't going to debate any more.

Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday suggested he doesnÂ’t see any point in having another debate with Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Clinton has agreed to a debate next week, but Obama has not yet accepted the invitation.

At an appearance in Raleigh, North Carolina, Obama said he has a lot of campaigning to do in a limited amount of time.

Obama said he had agreed to an earlier debate, but Clinton declined that one.

“I’ll be honest with you, we’ve now had 21,” he said. “It’s not as if we don’t know how to do these things. I could deliver Sen. Clinton’s lines; she could, I’m sure, deliver mine.”

Gee, Senator, it is tough being the leading candidate for the nomination -- it means the candidate behind you has you in her sites.

Plus it must be a real shock to have journalists start asking you tough questions, not the sort of softballs you've fielded up until now.

Just wait until John McCain starts to hammer you on substance later on this year. You'll wilt like a week-old lettuce leaf in Death Valley, dude.

Maybe you can get William Ayers to blow something up for you -- just to distract from how weak and unqualified a candidate you really are.

H/T Hot Air, STACLU

Posted by: Greg at 10:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I will not support this candidacy. Indeed, I will acively work against it.

Gov. Rick Perry said today he will seek re-election in 2010, but an aide said nothing will be final about that decision until after next year's legislative session.

Perry has been hinting that he will seek another term of office since even before he won re-election in 2006 with 39 percent of the vote. But his statements to reporters in Dallas today were the strongest to date, saying flatly that he will be a candidate.

As Perry exited a news conference at the Republican Governor's Association meeting in Grapevine, a reporter asked him if the 2010 Republican gubernatorial field would include him as well as U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

''I don't know about them, but it will be Perry in 2010,'' Perry responded, according to The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"I don't know about the other two. You need to ask them."

Asked whether he will run, Perry said, "Yes."

My personal inclination at this point is to support Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, but I would like to see how the field shapes up before making a commitment -- talk to me next spring for a firmer commitment. After all, I'm hearing at least one other candidate besides Perry, Dewhurst, and Hutchison will be seeking the office -- a Houston area state senator -- and I suspect that we could have more.

Why am I opposed to Perry? Weak efforts at tax reform that have saved no one money. His quick post-election flip-flop on border issues. His attempt to assume dictatorial powers to make law and appropriate money so that he could play doctor with every eleven-year-old girl in the state by mandating Gardasil on his say-so alone.

I think Rick Perry really doesn't understand the depth of the opposition to him and his pathetic efforts since the 2006 election.

Posted by: Greg at 11:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The New York Times gets one right in this editorial regarding yesterday's death penalty decision.

Justice Stevens, in a welcome surprise, said that he had come to the conclusion that the death penalty carries such high risks of error and discrimination, while doing so little good, that it is unconstitutional. He voted to uphold KentuckyÂ’s procedures because he believed precedent required it, but he said it is time for the court and legislatures to take a hard look at whether the death penaltyÂ’s substantial costs outweigh its benefits.

WednesdayÂ’s ruling clears the way for states that had put their executions on hold to resume them. Lawyers for death-row inmates insist, however, that the legal test the Roberts decision used gives them a basis for more challenges to lethal injection. That means more fights over how much needless pain is too much.

The better course would be for the nation to undertake Justice Stevens’s hard look at capital punishment — and leave it behind.

Now I disagree with the "leave it behind" conclusion, but at least the editors are constitutionally honest here. They know that the death penalty is unambiguously constitutional, and that any decision that declared otherwise would be an abrogation of the language of the Constitution itself.

On the other hand, I've no problem with a discussion of the death penalty -- indeed, I have already made clear the preferred, relatively painless method of execution that I believe would meet the Robert's test. The Texas Moratorium Network has continued to allow its heart to bleed over the poor murderers rather than their innocent victims.

Let the discussion over capital punishment (not capital rehabilitation or capital deterrence -- capital PUNISHMENT) continue. If the democratic process leads to its repeal, then so be it. but i believe most folks recognize that there are crimes for which the ultimate penalty is the only appropriate one.

Posted by: Greg at 10:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Seems that some Muslims are still stewing over the pontiff's decision to use an apropos quote about Islam in a speech in 2006 -- and don't seem very willing to consider that the problem is their's not Pope Benedict's.

At the time, the pope’s remarks prompted violence and expressions of outrage from Muslims abroad. Reactions in the United States were muted, but many Muslims today — even those closely connected to a Roman Catholic institution — remain troubled by the remarks. Their feelings are often complicated, a mixture of respect for the church and wariness about this pope, who will meet with Muslim and other religious leaders in Washington on Thursday.

While many say they continue to feel welcome at Catholic schools and hospitals, the popeÂ’s speech has left an indelible, often negative impression.

“It reflects on him as an intolerant person at that moment,” said Dr. Yusuf Mamdani of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., who is affiliated with St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan. “The pope should be beyond these things. I believe a person should respect me.”

Sorry, Dr. Mamdani, but you've got it dead wrong.

The role of the pope is to speak the truth of the Christian faith. He did that, even if that truth makes you uncomfortable.

And if you want to talk about indelible negative impressions, there is a hole in the ground in New York City that I'd like to call your attention to -- as well as a host of other terrorist-related artifacts -- that have left an indelible negative impression of Islam in a way much more striking than the Holy Father's use of an old quote.

And let's remind everybody exactly what was said.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Seems to me that this is a legitimate point of view for those of us who reject Islam as a religious innovation not inspired by God.

To the degree that the false scriptures of the false prophet Muhammad lifted long-venerated teachings of Judaism and Christianity and incorporated them into his new faith, there is good contained in Islam. To the degree that Muhammad taught conquest by the sword and violence against non-Muslims, his teachings were undeniably evil and inhuman -- and are indeed properly labeled as Satanic.

Unless, of course, you want to praise 9/11, car bombs, and suicide vests.

In which case we really have nothing further to talk about.

Posted by: Greg at 10:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's an interesting church-state issue.

An Ohio middle school teacher says he won't obey an order to remove a Bible from view of students.

John Freshwater said Wednesday he agreed to remove a collage from his classroom that included the Ten Commandments, but that asking him to remove the Bible on his desk goes too far.

Officials with the Mount Vernon School District say they don't oppose religion but are required by the U.S. Constitution not to promote or favor any set of religious beliefs.

Freshwater says being forced to keep the Bible out of sight would infringe on his rights.

Since I started teaching, there has always been a Bible in my classroom Indeed, it has been a necessary part of my teaching material. Back when I taught English, it was a useful tool for bringing in literary references and linguistic choices made by authors who were raising biblical imagery. Teaching history, I ind it useful to refer to certain elements of the Old and New Testaments when relating back to issues in Middle Eastern history (especially the ancient period) and the Christianization of the Roman Empire.

And yes, I do read it at times during my personal time during the day.

But I don't know how I feel about placing it front and center on a teacher's desk by itself, rather than on a book shelf or amongst other books. And this story doesn't give a whole lot of details about the situation and why its presence has become a problem.

Any reaction from readers?

Posted by: Greg at 10:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Yeah, these are the people that Jimmy Carter is visiting and the Bush Administration is funding with our tax dollars as a part of the "peace process". Now they are giving awards to those who actively participated in what is unambiguously terrorist activity.

If reports that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to present two female terrorists with a medal of honor are found to be true, it will be a grave development, the consequences of which Israel will need to consider, senior government officials told Israel Radio on Wednesday.

However, the unnamed officials said the accuracy of the reports had not yet been confirmed.

The radio station reported earlier in the day that the Al Kuds Mark of Honor, the PLO's highest medal, would be given to two female terrorists who helped kill Israelis.

The two were Ahlam Tamimi, a Hamas affiliate serving a life sentence for driving the suicide bomber who exploded himself in the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem, killing at least half a dozen people, and Amra Muna, who seduced Ophir Rahum over the Internet and then lured him to Ramallah where he was murdered.

So let's make it clear who the Terrorstinian Anarchy authorities are giving their highest honor -- a pair of accomplices to murder. After all, people peacefully eating pizza in a restaurant and guys surfing the web for love and romance are such threats to the so-called "legitimate aspirations" of the Terrorstinians for a state.

If these awards are given, that should definitively end any and all US aid to the Terrorstinian Anarchy -- and Israel should end any and all cooperation with those who insist upon any form of "peace process" that contemplates the establishment of a state of Palestine.

My buddy Freedom Fighter at Joshuapundit puts it quite well.

You can tell a lot about a given group of people by looking at what they honor. It takes a very special category of human being - and I use the term loosely - to honor people like this. And this is by no means a unique instance of this sort of thing.

Just say NO to coddling the terrorist scum who infest Gaza and the West Bank.

UPDATE: Honors revoked -- but only because the terrorist Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) who leads the Terrorstinian Anarchy got caught.

Posted by: Greg at 02:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Once again, the opponents of the death penalty get stung by the fact that the Constitution explicitly permits capital punishment and there is not constitutional mandate that executions be pain free. It is punishment, after all.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the most common method of lethal injection executions, likely clearing the way to resume executions that have been on hold for nearly 7 months.

The justices, by a 7-2 vote, turned back a constitutional challenge to the procedures in place in Kentucky, which uses three drugs to sedate, paralyze and kill inmates. Similar methods are used by roughly three dozen states.

''We ... agree that petitioners have not carried their burden of showing that the risk of pain from maladministration of a concededly humane lethal injection protocol, and the failure to adopt untried and untested alternatives, constitute cruel and unusual punishment,'' Chief Justice John Roberts said in an opinion that garnered only three votes. Four other justices, however, agreed with the outcome.

Roberts' opinion did leave open subsequent challenges to lethal injection practices if a state refused to adopt an alternative method that significantly reduced the risk of severe pain.

The reality, though, is that the opponents are likely to never meet that burden of proof. How does on determine that there is severe pain? What constitutes a significant reduction of risk? The terms are so vague as to be meaningless.

I still want states to adopt my alternative form of lethal injection – 9mm of lead to the base of the skull delivered at high velocity. Quick, efficient, and relatively painless.

And if we want to be sporting about it, give the condemned a choice of 10 pistols – one of which will be unloaded. An empty chamber results in an automatic commutation to life without parole – but only after the condemned has felt the muzzle to the head and heard the click of the trigger, giving them instant empathy with their innocent victim who was not even offered that much mercy.

Posted by: Greg at 11:39 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The local Democrat bloggers still remain silent on this situation.

But the realities of Mr. Vo's Neighborhood are pretty wretched indeed, as documented by this commercial offering.

Interestingly enough, it isn't just the local bloggers who are silent. I've yet to read or hear a single word from a single Democrat in office here in Houston -- not even Mayor Bill White, whose police force Vo attempted to bully with a letter on official House stationery. Nice support for the boys in blue, Mr. Mayor!

But then again, you know the Democrat's position on such things.

H/T LST

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Damn!

Damn damn damn!

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's cancer has returned. The five-term Republican said in a statement released by his office Tuesday that he was diagnosed with an early recurrence of Hodgkin's disease, which is a cancer of the lymph system.

Specter, 78, underwent treatment for the same type of cancer in 2005 and was later given a clean bill of health. The statement said that the cancer was revealed in a medical scan but that he has no symptoms.

"I was surprised by the PET scan findings because I have been feeling so good," Specter said in the statement. "I consider this just another bump on the road to a successful recovery from Hodgkin's, from which I've been symptom free for three years."

In his recent book, "Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate," Specter credited hard work with getting him through the cancer treatments.

"An illness like Hodgkin's serves as a reminder that we have a limited time _ and how our time can end when we least expect it," Specter wrote. "Moreover, the event of death could never eclipse what is most important, which is how we spend the time we have."

The statement released by his office said tests showed cancer in lymph nodes in his chest. A follow-up biopsy of one of the chest lymph nodes was positive for recurrence.

I've not always been a fan of Arlen Specter. indeed, i've supported his opponents more than once. But I do respect him as a man of honor and integrity -- and high personal decency. I rejoiced in his beating cancer before, and am saddened by this recurrence.

You are in my prayers, Senator -- because I truly believe that political differences don't matter when put up against the fight you are facing.

Posted by: Greg at 10:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Now my second job involves teaching on the college level. It is a great deal of fun, but we've recently introduced a new twist into the program -- most of the work is now done under a "distance learning" format. What this means is that most of the work done by my students is done at home -- and that most of the content delivery that I do is done over the internet. At the end of their entire program, students graduate with an Associates Degree.

Well, we are not the only folks in the distance learning business -- indeed, there are a great many programs that are set up on a distance learning model that teach entire courses in that manner. One of those is found at http://www.kaplanopenlearning.org.uk/distance-learning.html, where they have a Distance Learning program that is well-respected in the UK.

Why choose a distance learning program with Kaplan? Well, because of the freedom it gives you. You can study where you want to study, and do your coursework where you want to do it. You don't have to worry about commuting too and from school, and you can work on your material WHEN YOU WANT TO, not based upon the college's "master schedule". And best of all, when you are done with your course of study you have a degree from a respected educational institution.

WHo is this sort of program good for? Well, ANYONE -- anyone who doesn't want to deal with commuting or dorm life, anyone who has a job, a career, or a family that makes the scheduled commitment that goes with a traditional college program difficult to live up to. Sound interesting? Then check out Kaplan!

Posted by: Greg at 10:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In their editorial attacking Hillary for critiquing Obama's anti-White, anti-middle America comments.

Mr. Obama is not a hapless victim. His comments made for just the sort of rookie error that the Illinois senator is prone to make, and they have reinforced a feeling that he can be too aloof, or, yes, elitist. His attempts to explain himself have fallen flat, as have his insulting Annie Oakley jokes and demands to see pictures of Mrs. Clinton in a duck blind. Sexist jabs are as offensive as racist jabs.

Yeah, these are rookie mistakes.

And that is the problem. Obama is an unseasoned, unqualified rookie.

If he keeps saying and doing stupid stuff like this, it is clear that he is not qualified to sit in the Oval Office.

The Democrats are on the verge of offering us an untested neophyte. At least Hillary Clinton knows her ass from a whole in the ground. Barack Obama doesn't even have that going for him.

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I'm a high school teacher. That means I see a veritable fashion show of all varieties of the latest fashions on my kids every day. Maybe it is a sign of my ever advancing descent into middle age, but I donÂ’t always know the brands and the styles that they are wearing into my classroom. One brand I do know is Roca Wear, and I'll be the first to admit that they have some great looking fashions for men. For example, there is a lot of wonderful Roca Wear clothing that a guy of my age and size could wear without looking completely out of place. And the prices are not unreasonable, either.

Posted by: Greg at 10:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Because France doesn't have any real problems -- like rioting Muslim youth -- for the government to deal with.

The French parliament's lower house adopted a groundbreaking bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone — including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites — to publicly incite extreme thinness.

The National Assembly approved the bill in a series of votes Tuesday, after the legislation won unanimous support from the ruling conservative UMP party. It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks.

Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere. Leaders in French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards

Now I'll grant that I prefer my women with a little meat on their bones rather than bird-boned with ribs sticking out like a Darfur refugee or concentration camp survivor (which describes most fashion models). But that isn't a matter for the government to legislate on. And if the legislative branch has time to debate such a measure, it is time for them to go into recess until serious problems face France for them to deal with.

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Every single one of us loves free stuff. Admit it -- you know that you do. When you are at a store or a convention, you always try to get your hands on promotional products being given away, whether we are talking about pens or other little knick-knacks. ItÂ’s fun to walk away with a bag or two of swag, even if a lot of it does just clutter up your desk drawers or end up with the kids. But it is a proven fact that all that swag does bring in customers.

Are you looking to market your company through trade show items and other giveaways? Then check out Gimmes.com to find high-quality gifts at great prices.

Posted by: Greg at 10:03 PM | Comments (53) | Add Comment
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The way to make sure that people have enough money to pay for housing, gas, food, etc is to have the government STOP TAKING THEIR MONEY AWAY FROM THEM.

Senator John McCain offered the broadest look yet at his economic policies in a speech here Tuesday, calling for tax cuts, a freeze of discretionary spending for a year, higher premiums for better-off Medicare recipients and elimination of federal gas taxes this summer to reinvigorate the sagging economy.

Mr. McCain, who made no mention of his previous pledge to balance the budget by the end of his first term, outlined a long list of tax cuts he favored in the speech, which was delivered on the deadline for filing taxes. He called once again for making the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against, permanent, and for cutting corporate taxes, phasing out the alternative minimum tax and doubling the value of exemptions for each dependent to $7,000 from $3,500. He also proposed giving people the option of using a simpler, shorter tax form.

One of Mr. McCain’s tax proposals would take effect even before the Republican Convention: he called on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent a gallon federal gas tax from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Mr. McCain said that doing so would provide “an immediate economic stimulus,” but some environmentalists said that the change might encourage more people to use their cars, while Mr. McCain has made combating global warming central to his campaign.

Given that both leading contenders for the presidency propose to tax the American people into prosperity by letting the Bush tax cuts for every American expire, we have an amazing dichotomy. And given the calls of Democrats to lower the cost of gasoline, the opportunity to bring about a 5% decrease in gas prices without government interfering with the market, every Democrat should be on board with that gas tax proposal -- if they really believe that lowering gas prices is a good thing. After all, gas taxes are highly regressive and hit the working poor hardest.

Posted by: Greg at 10:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Have you ever wanted to up and relocate yourself into a natural mountain setting where you can kick back and cast your line into a beautiful lake full of fish? It is nice to do if you can, as I found out in my younger days when I went to college in Virginia. As great as the angling I've experience has been in the many places I have dropped a line, I really havenÂ’t found anything that compares to the joy of my fishing experiences in the Blue Ridge Mountains. ThatÂ’s why I wish I were in a position to relocate to The Coves at Smith Mountain Lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The Coves is a high-end gated community, designed with comfort and enjoyment in mind. So if you are looking for a place with great boating and fishing, visit CovesAtSML.com .

Posted by: Greg at 09:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I love it when Democrat leaders tell the world what they really think of "the common people" they claim to represent.

Take this example from one of our local Dem bloggers, who is also a head of a local Democrat organization and a close personal friend of our not-for-long Congressman, Nick Lampson.

John Coby said...

If voters could think, McLame wouldnt have a chance.
6:30 PM

Now we'll let the insulting nickname for a dedicated public servant and war hero go, because Democrats don't believe in things like respect for veterans. It is the disrespect for the voters -- apparently he doesn't believe that most Americans are very smart, so they have to be ruled by their betters, folks like himself and Obama.

So remember, Americans -- and especially Texans -- what Democrats really think about you. They think you are stupid if you vote against them -- and hope you are stupid enough to vote for them.

Posted by: Greg at 02:01 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Coming soon to America?

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco was slammed yesterday for selling a padded plunge bra for girls as young as SEVEN.

The £4 “bust-booster” is being sold alongside vests in the seven to eight-year-old age range.

Fashion lecturer David Morris attacked the bra as “salacious”.

He said: “I can imagine women being upset about their daughters buying these ‘pocket money bras’ without their mums knowing.

“The bra is modelled on a plunge style — it has a very low bridge connecting the cups. It means the shape and position is lower to expose the breast tissue.”

Parent and teacher groups called for the Cherokee range to be removed from the shelves.

What does a seven-year-old need with a low-cut, padded push-up bra? These are children, for God's sake! Do we really need to be sexualizing them any more than has already been done?

Let's be honest -- padded bras, push-up bras, and low-cut bras are all designed with one purpose in mind, the enhancement of sex appeal. When a 27-year-old woman wears such things, that is an adult choice. When a 17-year-old comes to my class in them, I'm troubled by the message it sends. But when folks are now pushing this stuff into second and third grade, society has descended into a deeper moral abyss than I had imagined.

Posted by: Greg at 10:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sounds like a definitive statement to me. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will not be a candidate for Vice President in 2008.

“I do not want to be, don’t intend to be, won’t be on [McCain’s] ticket,” she told the Associated Press in an interview in Alabama today where she received an honorary degree from Air University at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base.

“It’s time for me to do something else,” she added, saying she would return to Stanford University after the Bush administration leaves office next January.

Rice praised Sen. McCain, of Arizonia, as “an amazing man” with “great intellect” but said the last time she spoke with him was last month after his passport file had been breached…

“We’ll see in a few year’s what I do. But I — this is not the time for me,” she told the AP.

I would have liked to see her on the ticket, but I don't know that she would balance out McCain's policy strengths, though she would bring ethnic, gender, and age differences to the ticket that cannot be ignored. But would her more moderate social credentials have harmed her candidacy?

Interestingly enough, though, the statement does leave open some interesting possibilities for 2012...

H/T Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 10:03 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Another example of the brazenness of those who embrace the evil of communism.

n a showing of pro-Chinese support, hundreds of demonstrators protested outside a college arena Monday as the Dalai Lama spoke to students on solving problems through dialogue.

Thousands of people have flocked to Seattle to hear the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader speak since he arrived Thursday for a five-day conference on compassion, but the city's Chinese community had remained largely silent until Monday.

Demonstrators held signs alleging media bias and protesting the violence from rioting by Tibetan monks.

Some echoed Beijing's stand that the Dalai Lama is behind the recent uprising against five decades of Chinese rule. Signs called the Dalai Lama a liar and a "CIA-funded militant." Many people waved large Chinese flags.

"I think that people are misinformed. They have media discrimination," demonstrator Jiange Li said. "Tibet was freed _ 50 years ago."

I love that quote, don't you? Tibet was freed 50 years ago? Really? You mean when the Chinese Army overran a peaceful neighbor and began actively disrupting its culture, forcing many of its people into exile? Some definition of freedom.

And interestingly enough, these apologists for Red Chinese evil are permitted to stand in teh streets of an American city and spread their poison -- while those who support the Dalai Lala a e arrested, beaten, and killed if they try to protest in the streets of China.

That dichotomy says all that needs be said about that "freedom" proclaimed by the supporters of the butcher of Beijing.

Posted by: Greg at 09:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The forces of ignorance are always most threatened by those who carry the torch of knowledge. It should be clear which side is which in this story.

Daud Hassan Ali had an unusual dream for his native Somalia. He was a nomadÂ’s son who lived in Britain for years, but he recently returned to his troubled homeland to teach English. Early Monday, he paid for it with his life.

Witnesses said that Mr. Daud and three foreign teachers, a Briton and two Kenyans, were killed by Islamist insurgents during a midnight raid on one of the few English-language schools in south-central Somalia.

A spokesman for the Shabab militant Islamist group said the teachers were killed by accident after they were caught in cross-fire. But several residents of Beledweyne, the town where the attack happened, said Mr. Daud and the other teachers might have been singled out because they were suspected of preaching Christianity.

When I go to school this morning, I'm likely to face nothing more than a couple of smart-mouthed wannabe thugs trying to disrupt my class. I'm unlikely to find myself in danger of being injured, much less killed, for trying to teach my class.

Not so for teachers in areas of the world where Islamism hold sway. Interesting, isn't it, that those who bring new ideas and new knowledge just happened to be the "accidental" victims, when teachers are killed every week by Islamists who accuse them of contradicting some aspect of Islam. And given the comments about their preaching Christianity, that is simply more evidence of the desire of the dark forces of the most backwards form of Islam attempting to put out the True Light -- a goal which they can never achieve.

انه لا إله إلا الله ، ويسوع هو الابن انجب له

There is no God but God, and Jesus is his only begotten son.

Posted by: Greg at 09:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or at least that is the latest theory.

Researchers have discovered that the builder of the Titanic struggled for years to obtain enough good rivets and riveters and ultimately settled on faulty materials that doomed the ship, which sank 96 years ago Tuesday.

The builder’s own archives, two scientists say, harbor evidence of a deadly mix of low quality rivets and lofty ambition as the builder labored to construct the three biggest ships in the world at once — the Titanic and two sisters, the Olympic and the Britannic.

For a decade, the scientists have argued that the storied liner went down fast after hitting an iceberg because the shipÂ’s builder used substandard rivets that popped their heads and let tons of icy seawater rush in. More than 1,500 people died.

When the safety of the rivets was first questioned 10 years ago, the builder ignored the accusation and said it did not have an archivist who could address the issue.

Now, historians say new evidence uncovered in the archive of the builder, Harland and Wolff, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, settles the argument and finally solves the riddle of one of the most famous sinkings of all time. The company says the findings are deeply flawed.

The interesting bit of information from my point of view was that the builder had begun to switch to steel rivets, which are stronger. They used them on the central part of the hull, but not at the bow or stern, because they expected the most stress to be in that central zone. Unfortunately, a close encounter with an iceberg resulted in stress in the area with the sub-standard iron rivets, and it seems that they gave way and led to a catastrophic incident that would not have otherwise occurred.

And the rest is history.

Posted by: Greg at 09:36 PM | Comments (34) | Add Comment
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Oh, my!r

One part of any student’s academic career is writing papers and essays. Indeed, writing is an essential part of the process of obtaining a degree in higher education. And while ensuring that all work you turn in is your own work, there are ways that you can approach it to make it easier – for example, by working with a custom writing company. Now please be aware – I’m not talking about plagiarism, which I completely oppose and unconditionally denounce. Instead, I am talking about the use of things like a dissertation template or professional help editing essay for high stakes work like your thesis or dissertation on the graduate school level. After all, every professional writer has editors, and there is nothing unethical about that.

Posted by: Greg at 09:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Interesting, isn't it, that the local lefties are so silent when it is one of their own who is facing tie in jail -- and for engaging in gun violence, no less.

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

State Rep. Borris Miles was indicted Monday on two counts of deadly conduct stemming from complaints he brandished a pistol and made threats at a pair of parties last December.

Miles, D-Houston, is expected to turn himself in this week, prosecutor Paul Doyle said. Bail has been set at $2,000. If convicted, each count of the Class A misdemeanor carries a punishment range of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Ben Hall, an attorney for one of the people who accused Miles of threatening him, said the two counts stem from two incidents.

In the first, Miles is accused of showing a pistol and threatening TSU regent Willard Jackson and his wife during a Rockets/Mavericks game at the Toyota Center, Hall said.

He said the second count is connected to an incident later that night in which Miles is accused of displaying a pistol and forcibly kissing another man's wife while crashing a party at a St. Regis Hotel ballroom.

Hall said his client, party host David Harris, decided to press charges after a drunken Miles shocked guests with loud, profane language, grabbed his face and planted a Godfather-style "kiss of death" on his cheeks. Harris also said Miles handed him a pistol and declared, "You don't know what I'm capable of doing."

Harris said he thought the grand jury made the right decision but said it was not a happy day for anyone involved.

Fortunately this clown lost in the primary, but a number of our local liberal bloggers actually endorsed his reelection, despite the fact that Miles' behavior was already public knowledge. Seems they didn't like the other candidate, who had shown a willingness to work with the GOP leadership of the Texas House -- proving once again that when a liberal says they support "bipartisanship" they really mean "Republicans surrendering to Democrats".

But imagine the uproar if Miles had been a Republican. I'm quite sure that the Houston leftosphere would be in rare form, denouncing the behavior of a "bitter Republican gun nut" and talking about the arrogance of power. Considering how upset they got over Chuck Rosenthal's dirty emails, you'd hope they might have a few words over the indictment of a legislator who made terroristic threats to political opponents.

I guess not -- it's apparently not a problem when Dems do it.

Posted by: Greg at 09:15 PM | Comments (35) | Add Comment
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I love discussing sports with friends, both online and in the real world. As I've been looking towards the upcoming NFL draft, I found this site devoted to sports talk on things like NFL picks, fantasy sports leagues, and other sports related topics. If sports is an interest, you really need to check them out.

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This may be one of the funniest videos directed at a politician I have ever seen.

Talk about an ineffective, incompetent Senator! Here's hoping that he draws a challenger on the GOP side.

Shout it with me, folks:

RUN, MITT, RUN!

H/T The Corner & Hot Air

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Barack Obama wants to be President of the United States, which would make him commander-in-chief of the US Military. Why, then, is he taking donations from Code Pink, an organization known for committing acts of harassment and vandalism against military recruiters and their offices in an effort to impede the recruiting efforts of the armed forces and undermine their readiness to defend the country? Why would he accept money funneled through an organization that stands outside veteranÂ’s hospitals mocking wounded soldiers?

The co-founder of the radical anti-war group Code Pink has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and pro-troops groups are demanding that he return the money.

Jodie Evans, a Code Pink leader, gathered at least $50,000 from friends and associates and donated it to ObamaÂ’s presidential campaign, according to information compiled by the nonpartisan watchdog group, Public Citizen.
Evans and her son, a student who lives at her Southern California address, each also gave the maximum individual allowable donation of $2,300 to ObamaÂ’s campaign.

The donations have raised questions about Obama’s association with the more radical elements of his base. Code Pink has harassed, vandalized and impeded military recruiters across the United States in a campaign it calls “counter-recruitment.” The group also gave $600,000 to the families of Iraqi terrorists in Fallujah, whom it called “insurgents” fighting for their homes.

The Code Pinkos have, of course, a right to participate in the political process. However, Barack Obama has a responsibility to disassociate his campaign from those who attack our military – unless he supports those efforts.

After all, if he wants to argue that he is fit to be the commander-in-chief of our brave men and women in uniform, he can prove it by rejecting those who major political activity is undermining the troops.

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